Subnautica Below Zero Runs at 1872p On PS5, Native 4K On XSX and 900p On Series S

Subnautica Below Zero is the sequel to the first game that has been released on the last and current-generation consoles. Here's how it runs on current-gen.

[SullysCigar]

I'm betting it will also run on PSVR2 next year (along with the first game) and that's when I'll play it!

[SullysCigar]

Anyone disagreeing care to bet against? Lol

Also, this is just another cross gen game essentially upscaled for next gen, but I guess we're still desperately beating that "OMG there's a difference!" horse..

[DJStotty]

There is a difference, PS5 can not run it in Native 4K

[Gaming4Life1981]

So native 4k vs non 4k holds no difference? But last gen on base ps4 ps fans were touting resolution was the killer of xbox one......lol

[SinisterKieran]

And then Xbox fans were doing the exact same thing when Xbox one x released. It’ll always happen but people don’t release it’s probably less then 10% of the player base that actually cares

[RaiderNation]

"So native 4k vs non 4k holds no difference?"

Not if you can't SEE that difference. Think about how moronic this whole argument is. We only have knowledge of this difference because they tell us. If no one said anything, no one would know or could tell that there even IS a difference. Side by side, both versions are so identical it's a big nothing burger. Yet fanboys want to carry on like it's the PS3/360 days where the differences were obvious. We are way past that now. This is only important to those who are either desperately seeking ammo to hurl at fans of the competing console or those who are on the high end of the OCD/anal retentive spectrum.

[Army_of_Darkness]

Resolution results will vary depending on the developer... And considering this is an indie 3rd party title, there's nothing to really argue or brag about here. So Everyone just chill and have a pizza!

[Sayai jin]

What does this article have to do with PSVR? There is a difference. Most games there will be a difference. They will be very small, bit still exist. Some will fair better for PS5 and others for the Xbox Series X. So it aounds lie you are beating the "it's a cross gen title" horse.

It's 2021, 9 gen, and the beastly PS5 is more than capable of running these games at 4k. So why not... Sony is lacking when it comes to BC. This gen will be full of remasters and if they do not improve on BC games, they will lag behind.

[tombfan]

mmmmmmm there WAS an apparent difference between 1080 and 1440p but after that it's not that noticeable, maybe having a 4k TV of 85" makes a far easier way to spot differences tho...

[Orchard]

@SullysCigar "I'd say the biggest difference is that Xbox series XS can't run it in VR."

Neither can the PS5? There is no VR headset for the PS5 today, nor is there a VR version of this game.

Also the vast majority of consumers/gamers are not playing on VR, so it is irrelevant for the majority, where as the performance when running the game in 'normal mode' is the experience which 99.999% of gamers will see.

[Christopher]

***This gen will be full of remasters and if they do not improve on BC games, they will lag behind.***

This statement is not saying what you think it is saying. Also, BC loses importance the more games are made for the specific console.

[agnosticgamer]

If this is simply a "Cross Gen" game... Upscaled for next gen... Why can't PS5 run it at 4K?

[dcbronco]

@Sully

What makes you think that the Series X can't play this game at 4k in VR. Xbox doesn't have a VR headset but it's more than capable of handling one. The X may already be playing games at 4k but it still has plenty of power left because many of the features that maximize its architecture haven't been used yet. Once they start using variable rate shading and Direct ML along with other things we'll see that only 40% of the power has been used. A lot of that applies to the ps5 also. It just uses different methods that may not be as effective but may be more in some cases. I would bet they're only using 50-60% of the ps5 power.

[anubusgold]

@agnosticgamer Because it was on pc first so it has a higher range of resolutions i dont even think consoles can do ultra widescreen yet.

[Atom666]

I'll take your bet.

I disagreed because I expect the devs to be moving on and focusing on other things. Below Zero is only getting VR right now because of mods. The original Subnautica skipped PSVR because of performance issues.

From the devs if you're curious:

“Sadly we don’t think we’ll be able to do VR justice. Not because we don’t love VR (we do) or all own multiple headsets (we do)….We wanted to do a better job with SN1 but time and availability of people was difficult. We just don’t want people having a bad experience in VR for Below Zero, so we’re likely not doing it unless we can find the time. Making the game itself is the top priority.”

So yeah. Bet.

[SullysCigar]

Thanks for not being a dick about it, I can totally see your logic.

I remember them giving up on Subnautica VR on PS4. Can't be easy to process the image twice on 1.7tf at the best of times, but it worked quite well on PC I thought. So there's hope for this gen and I'm clinging to it. Sod all the VR haters lol

[septemberindecember]

@Atom

Props for explaining why you disagree and not just hitting the button. Seriously, that doesn't happen often enough around here.

[IcedOmega13]

They aren't even supporting vr on the PC version of Below zero at this point.

[Orchard]

"Im waiting on a version of the game which has not been announced, nor rumored - and the developer has actually spoken out against historically"

Why not just play it today and enjoy it for the game it is? If you're going to wait on PSVR versions of every game, you're going to miss out on a LOT of good games because most games do not come to PSVR.

[Locutus_of_borg]

Why do the red flowers disappear on both the quality and performance modes on Ps5 , the section after the load times... i can only assume it will be patched to work eventually..

[Highrevz]

I’m sure it will be patched at some point.
There’s not as many issues compared to the first game but still some room for polish.

[Gardenia]

This is BC I assume, not a real next gen patch. Because the loading times are 40+ seconds so the SSD is not being used.

[wiz7191]

@Gardenia It’s not the SSD, Subnautica is just one of those games that notoriously takes a century and a half to load.

[DOMination-]

13% more pixels on XSX, that's quite a big gap and this is just an indie game.

[Applejack]

That may be the case but this game isn’t exactly a benchmark for the current gen consoles.

[InUrFoxHole]

Must be the series S holding back the PS5...

[SullysCigar]

^ the series S is a ball and chain on the generation. Well, until they drop support at least.

[MadLad]

@foxhole

That was a legitimately great response.

[Master of Unlocking]

That's not even 300 less vertical pixels less on the PS5, 288 exactly. Cry me a river...
I wonder why the horizontal resolution is never mentioned every time in reports like this though. I guess it means it's because it's actual 3860 pixels, but who knows.

[FyBy]

its on par with xsx vs ps5 performance gap. and this is not in any means big gap. its almost smallest gap for concurrent consoles in consoles history. it didnt mean anything anytime. so....whats the point of your comment?

[NeoGamer232]

This issue is situational.

First, there is the quality of the TVs. I have seen HD TVs look better then 4K TVs in some cases because their processors are really good for rendering the images. Really look at how some TVs render the different shades of black.

Second, there is the human eye. If the TV is less then 43", and you are sitting 10 feet from it, there is no way you will see the difference. But, the bigger the TV, the more you will be able to see the difference.

Third 13% is a law of diminishing returns on 4K. when we saw games at 480p goto 1080p it was "Wow, that is amazing". Now with everything around the 4K range it is more, "I can feel a difference but I don't necessarily see a difference".

Honestly, anyone picking apart each console at this point is really just supporting fanboyism. Now comparing Switch and XSS to PS5 and XSX. Now those are legitimate comparisons that can help gamers make the right decision on what console they should buy or buy a game on. But PS5 vs XSS is just being nit picky.

[Babadook7]

That is the gap that you should expect for BC titles; patched to use 100% of the GPU on XSX, and not similarly patched to use PS5's extra cores. Current gen games are a different story with PS5 typically having an advantage.

[Atticus_finch]

Its because of the legacy code of last gen consoles. Otherwise there would not be a difference.

[BrettAwesome]

@DOMinatemyanus
Smallest delta ever. Just sayin'.

[wolf581]

After the amd's dlss solution all this talk will be irrelevant...after all we all know that if developers want to bring out true next gen graphics like rachet clank and above...then of course both ps5 and xbxsx must forget 4k native..it ll only be achivied with the dlss solution...but thats better for all...far better graphics and games will look exacly like 4k native..look nioh coll on digital foundry video..in pc testing with dlss on and off..they say is looking better even from 4k native..
So bottom line...prepare for big leap in graphics..and thats why many games pushed back

[Orchard]

The problem with that is, DLSS doesn't magically make the gap in hardware disappear. If you have two games running at 1440p w/ DLSS up to 4K, developers will just have extra resources to make the XSX version prettier due to not having to hit native 4K.

Whether they choose to use those resources or just settle for parity, is a different story.

[Father__Merrin]

Again one x version souped up vs pro version souped up

[DJStotty]

So the Xbox One X version is better than the PS4 Pro version?

And the Series X version is better than the PS5 version?

Go Xbox!!!!

[StoneyYoshi]

@Stotty

I thought we were past this?

BC games even with upgrades are showing benefits towards XSX majority of the time. These comparison results are nothing new.

We just had a comparison of RE:Village showing that comparisons for games utilizing the new systems tech are very close to each other visually and performance wise. It's most likely going to stay that way for Multiplat games too.

[Notellin]

Guys keep in mine one version is better than the other. Now move the goalposts back and forth to fit your narrative and commence fanboy commenting.

[Christopher]

(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

[Shane Kim]

Is it of any surprise?

[Software_Lover]

Most wouldn't know unless someone told them.

[MadLad]

I bought a 4k monitor because my 1080p one looked just as good, right?

[Software_Lover]

Depends on what you are playing, watching, streaming.

[MadLad]

@software

4k content.

[ScootaKuH]

Exactly. I don't know about you but I don't go counting every pixel when I'm playing games

[thesoftware730]

I love how native 4k doesn't matter anymore.

Its all about a few seconds load times and rumbly, noise making controllers now.
Nintendo had the right idea I guess.

[jznrpg]

Native isn’t ideal solution really . Most games will be up scaled which is better for games overall. 4k uses too much resources . I’d rather have upscale games with more going on than 4K native and less detail .

[Christopher]

The hypocrisy is in both sides. Let's not try and make it just one-sided. I wish we could all learn to just enjoy games again.

[thesoftware730]

@Christopher

I agree,

I bust balls sometimes but I play on every system. Trues story.
Xbox, PS, Nintendo.

I just find it absurd how much hate the Xbox and Nintendo gets on here, especially Xbox.

I own both systems and like different things about them both..but as of right now while we are stuck mostly playing BC games and upgrades I think the edge goes to xbox.

Already played these so nothing else to play.
DS:remake
DMC: SE
Astrobot
Bugsnax(just a bit)
Skipping returnal..maybe when it's not $70.
Looking forward to R&C.

So right now on Xbox

I play outriders, (main play)
Ori and Will ofWisp,( finishing up..LOVE IT!)
Grounded with my Son(few hours when he feels like it)
Dead Army 4(really fun with my friend in PA)
2nd Extinction (when certain friends are on)
And Control(slow burn)
Waiting for Acention.

So both systems are great, but dont see what makes PS so much better right now as there is nothing stand out to play.

[Mr_Luke]

I don't understand why people get angry, to be honest...
There are games that run somehow better here, there or equal, that if you play without anyone telling you "this game has 100 (whatever) pixels more/less" you don't even notice.
You have your console, you get the game if you like it. You really need to hear "your version is better/worse" to enjoy it more or less? Ok, if the game is broken, that's not good, that's a reason to be angry about, over all if you paid for it.
And i'm talking about each game that was released or that will be released.
I've never read so stupid comments. And of course i will get dislikes since for many people my comment will be called stupid but i don't care :P

[CertifiedGamer]

Game seems that it was not optimized for current gen consoles. I don't understand how this game have loading times between 41-47 seconds. This game was made for last gen consoles at its base so I think it is badly optimized.

[Orchard]

A pretty sizable gap. I still need to finish the first, but will do so and then pick this up.

[waverider]

TheRealTedCruz. Dont get me wrong i think the Series X is a great machine. But the S isnt. Cheaper? maybe when you buy it... But in long run it will be much more expensive then the Series X. in a 6 months or less if you have Gamepass or got many games, you will need more space. To take advantage of the only plus of the S, the SSD, you need the SSD drive that cost more 200 plus... Again i think that microsoft should have done a discless version of the X and not the S. Thats my opinion. Getting version of games that run like last gen isnt something to talk about.

[Deathdeliverer]

This is a cross gen updated game. Once again people. This is a PS4/Xbox one game. The resolution on the Xbox version was coded at 4k because it was on Cbox One X. It’s in the code. Guess what the PS4 pro version resolution maxed out at? That’s right, 1872p. This stuff is misleading and really does confuse the uninitiated. Or the unwilling to understand the basic differences. This has ALMOST nothing to do with the power of the consoles outside of frame rate. Look at digital foundry video on the last of us 2 patch. They even said (finally) what I’ve been saying all along. The resolution hasn’t been updated because the game was coded at the resolution it’s at. It can be changed in the future but it would take more work. Uncapping or increasing a frame rate is far easier and instantly striking. Resolution is harder to change and many might not see the difference so it’s left alone. These devs are just throwing games out the door. It’s true next gen games for me. Only buying cross gen games that are must haves.

[OB1Biker]

It says 30fps on next gen? Weird stuff.
People bragging about some indie game with analysis from questionable source. This console war is going to drag on this gen.

[Deathdeliverer]

I’m saying the “Next gen” upgrade does not take advantage of next gen. Same as many other titles. Don’t understand what you mean.

[Escamotage]

I just started playing the original Subnautica a few weeks ago on PS4. The game is buggy has heck. Always crashing.

Is this new one buggy as well?

[XxINFERNUSxX]

PC as usual FTW 😁